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Outlook for Korean Studies in Chile

Korean studies programs are now taking root in several Central and South American countries. In this regard, the Korea Foundation has supported the first meeting of the Central & South American Society of Korean Studies, held in Argentina in 2003; the first meeting of the Argentine Society of Korean Studies in 2003; and the second meeting of the Central & South American Society of Korean Studies, held in Mexico in 2005. Korean studies scholars from a number of regional countries attended these meetings, brightening the prospects for Korean studies in these Central and South American countries.
The state of Korean studies scholarship in Chile, which is only now emerging, is rather weak as compared to that of Mexico or Argentina, where Korean studies programs are better established. Nevertheless, it is necessary to pay attention to the future potential of Korean studies in Chile.
It has been only recently that academic interest in Chile has come to be focused on Asian countries, including Korea. Several factors have contributed to this development, such as the APEC meeting held in Santiago, Chile in 2004, expanding trade volume with Asia after the adoption of an open economy policy, and the importance of knowing more about Asia after signing free trade agreements with Korea and China. Due to an awareness that a lack of cultural understanding could hinder economic exchanges, the need to offer Asia-related courses at universities has been well recognized in Chile.

Korean Language Courses
The first Chilean university that offered a Korean language course as part of its regular cultural studies was Universidad Maritima de Chile. Korean Language 1 and Korean Language 2 were offered in the second semester of 2004 and the first semester of 2005, respectively, as part of the cultural studies courses of the business college; but thereafter, the Korean language courses were suspended due to a change in the university administration.
The University of Chile has carried out several Korea-related research projects, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, at its graduate school of international relations, with support from the Korea Foundation. However, after Prof. Hernan Gutierrez, who was the chief researcher, left the school to take a position with the Foreign Ministry of Chile, the research activities have subsided. Then, in early 2006, a Korean Studies Program (Programa de Estudios Coreanos) was formally launched by the graduate school of international relations (Instituto de Estudios Internacionales), thereby making Korea-related academic activities available on a full-scale basis. This could be seen as the first program maintained exclusively for Korean studies in Chile.
Another institution where continuous development of Korean studies has been underway, starting with courses on Korean culture, is Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. Since the second semester of 2004, when I started lecturing on Korean language and Korean culture courses, Korean Language 1 and Korean Language 2 have been offered, at the request of students. These Korea-related courses are part of the cultural studies program for students majoring in the humanities. While the Korean culture course is provided every semester, Korean Language 1 and Korean Language 2 are offered in consecutive semesters. Since the comprehension level of students is higher when these courses are available on a continuous basis, I believe that this school deserves close attention.
At present, the Chilean university with the most systematic development of its Asian studies program is the Catholic University of Chile. Since 2002, this university has established Asian studies, taught under the Asia Program (Programa de Estudios Asiaticos) of the faculty of history, geography, and political science (Facultad de Historia, Geografia y Ciencia Politica), as courses for a minor. If students take “Asiamegarregion” as a primary course and four out of 10 secondary courses of the Asia Program, they will be credited with completing a minor study area.
In “Asiamegarregion,” 7-8 professors, including myself, offer lecture courses on Korea, China, and Japan every semester. And of note, “Korean Language and Culture” (Cultura y Lengua Coreana) was offered as an exclusive course on Korea, for the first time this year. In addition, Study Group ASIA has been organized in conjunction with the Asia Program since the second semester of 2005, thereby providing additional exchange opportunities for visiting Asian students and Chilean students. This school has been receiving annual support for reference materials from the Korea Foundation since 2002, and with further support for 2006, to be determined by the Foundation, it plans to strengthen its Korea-related research and cultural activities.

Challenges for Korean Studies in Chile
There are several ways to promote Korean studies in Chile. First of all, however, we should understand that it is still too early for Korean studies to become an independent field because Asian studies itself is only at a beginning stage. Therefore, it is important to pursue step-by-step development in accordance with the national circumstances of Chile and the specific characteristics of Chilean universities, and not to push an overly ambitious initiative. Another desirable approach is to utilize the existing Asian programs of each university to actively promote joint development with Chinese and Japanese studies.
Second, in the short term, we need to first generate greater interest in Korea by starting with cultural education and not hastily promoting Korean language courses, along with providing scholars with encouragement through research support. On the other hand, over the long term, it is necessary to have the Chilean people recognize the importance of learning about Korea by enhancing the national profile and image of Korea.
Third, what is more important than simply offering courses on Korean studies is the matter of knowing “what to teach” and “how to teach.” Improper instruction can lead to worse results than no instruction at all. Actually, there are some cases in which Korea is taught as being part of China in Asia-related courses. Also, we should bear in mind that at a Chilean university, the issue of offering or suspending a course is determined by the guidelines of the university or the related department, which are known to be highly autonomous.
Fourth, it would be ideal to have Spanish-speaking Korean professors as course lecturers. If this is not practical, we should seek to stimulate interest of the universities and students by increasing Korea-related courses by visiting scholars, in addition to promoting cultural performances and exhibitions. It is also essential to foster future scholars in Korean studies by providing opportunities for the students taking Korean culture or language courses to visit Korea.
It is said that: “Well-begun is half-done.” Though Korean studies scholarship in Chile is only now emerging, it has the potential to develop with minimal trial and error by learning from the lessons of the development processes in other countries. If we maintain efforts for the development of Korean studies, which are suited to the Chilean situation, with continuous interest and support from the Korean.

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